White Ribbon and Lace
by Roguishly
Summary: This fic is set after Eclipse. Bella is just hours away from losing mortality, losing all that she has ever known, a more than reasonable price to pay to be with Edward for eternity as he promised... Will Bella finally get the true future she hopes for?
1. Matrimony

_**Matrimony**_

"Bella, there are of course, many things that you are not taking into consideration. When I found out from Alice where you'd gone I was furious… It was as though everything I'd sacrificed to protect you was done in vain…"

"Edward, it isn't, honestly, I didn't mean anything by--- "Didn't _mean_ anything by it, Bella? You could've been killed! And we never would have known to save you because of the mind block those mongrels—"Edward, please!—"Let me finish!—those blocks that your 'friend's' put on Alice… Do you know how much danger…?"

He paused, waving his hand dismissively. "That's beside the point, but you know full well what I'm trying to tell you, Bella. Obviously I can't hunt anymore because at any given opportunity, you might just run off."

"But Edward, I…"

"No," He said adamantly, his velvet voice, although calm was still heightened with anger, something impossible to ignore.

I had been through this a thousand times. And it was odd, I knew that Edward was slightly a bit more comfortable with the pack now but…I'd run off, and then felt myself gasp, and start into consciousness as though doused in ice water. I guess this fact was partially true because Edward had his arms around me; his lips were coolly pressed to the nape of my neck.

"Are you all right, love?" He whispered, his breath ghosting across my neck sending chills electrifyingly down my spine. Suddenly I was facing him, staring into those sloshing pools of liquid topaz.

"I'm fine," I lied.

"Bella, we've been through this before, you're a horrid liar without even the faintest pretense… Honestly."

I blanched.

"Edward, I'm scared." I admitted. Tomorrow was the wedding and my nerves had never felt so exposed.

"I know,"

I wasn't sure whether or not to be surprised by this statement. "I guess… I started dreaming that I had run off again and you were upset with me."

I could feel him resisting the urge to smile, but he didn't fight it for long before that brilliant smile stretched across his face; it reached his eyes.

"Cold feet," I could swear I heard him laughing.

"Are you _laughing _at me, Edward? Honestly, now isn't exactly the right time!"

"I'm—not—laughing." He said, trying to be honest, but the hitches in his velvet voice were all too hard to ignore.

My right hand was in a cast now, and my left was healing okay, not to mention the bandages. I had no idea how Alice expected me to fit in the dress now, with my cast and everything. I looked at my ring just the same as it was the first time I had laid eyes on it, its long oval face set with slanting rows of glittering round stones; the delicate and narrow gold band making a fragile web around the diamonds.

"I'm still surprised Charlie took it so well," I admitted, striking up a slight sub-topic.

"Me too," Edward agreed. I knew he knew Charlie took it better than I'd realized initially, of course because of his talents.

At first I thought he was going to have a heart attack. But I was really the one that ended up surprised.

"Ah, you've finally come to tell me!" Charlie said with a bit of a smile. I think Edward was growing on him. "Wait—huh?" I asked, a bit taken aback.

It took Edward quite a bit of effort not to smile, his lips in a forcibly hardened line that seemed to be wavering.

"Edward already asked me if he could have your hand about a week ago." Charlie informed me.

_That double-crosser_

I shot him a slight glare which finally broke that line he'd been trying so hard to keep and he was grinning crookedly at me.

"I figured since you put such an emphasis about going about this the right way… The opportunity presented itself and I couldn't possibly refuse."

I looked to Charlie, half of me expecting something bad, and the other half was honestly annoyed.

"I'll gladly walk to down the aisle, Bells, of course your mother and I had a serious talk about this—Phil's leg seems to be doing better and they'll be able to make it up for the wedding, but I still think that you're too young."

I nodded a little, I figured he would say that, but that was out the window when marrying Edward became part of the compromise.

I shook myself from my reverie when Edward had released me from his cold embrace, standing up and stretching as though he had slept, feigning a yawn. If I hadn't known better I probably would have believed he was groggy.

"I know what you need, you need some breakfast." It then dawned on me that I was in Edward's bedroom and not my own. How could I have possibly just realized this? And then I faintly remembered telling him last night in mid-sleep that I wanted to stay over so that in the morning Alice, Esme, and Rosalie could finish coordinating everything.

As we strolled through the kitchen to the dining room, the scent of flowers was everywhere. I thought vaguely of a funeral home, but shook that from my mind, sitting at the table in the dining room while Edward insisted he serve me, rather ceremoniously bringing me pop-tarts. I laughed, knowing the only food the Cullen's kept in the house was only for me.

"What are you _doing_ Edward?" Alice hissed playfully, jaunting into the dining room and taking Edward by the arm. "You can't see the bride until the wedding, well, not in the gown, but she needs to focus."

I knew for a fact that I would probably focus better with Edward than I would without him, and Alice knew this, but she'd already planned for Carlisle, Jasper, and Emmett to keep him busy; I waved goodbye as Jasper whisked him away.

"Can I at least finish my breakfast, Alice?" I queried listlessly.

She eyed the toasted squares on my plate and then scrunched her nose. "Those don't _look _very appetizing." She noted, gracefully slipping into a seat beside me.

"They're okay. I just don't want to have too much in my stomach, I'm afraid I'm going to throw up."

"Oh it isn't _that_ terrible." Alice said a bit nonchalantly. "Everything will be fine."

The rest of the day flew by without a hitch, and soon I was standing before myself in my wedding dress, Carlisle having wrapped my arm up in an ace bandage which wasn't so noticeable beneath the lace sleeves that covered my arms. Through the mirror I saw her enter Alice's bedroom before I had a chance to react.

"Oh sweetheart, you look _so_ beautiful." Renée wrapped her arms around me in a hug, and I carefully hugged her in return.

"Here, I brought these for you."

"Mum, honestly, you didn't have to," I objected.

"Your soon-to-be husband told me you weren't too objectionable to hand-me-downs."

_Of course,_ I thought with a bit of a sigh. "Okay, let's see."

Renée pulled a small grey velveteen box out of her purse, handing it to me to open. I flicked open the box to reveal two small pearl earrings.

"They're beautiful, mom, thank you." I said before taking them out of the box and putting them in my ears. They were just the something I thought I was missing.

Once the time drew nearer, everyone was fussing over me, my hair done up with white lace ribbons, falling in delicate chocolate curls, my makeup done very lightly, considering my complexion was already quite fair Alice (much to her disappointment), really didn't have to do much.

I was then in the kitchen, hidden from view, a bouquet of calla lilies in my hand also tied together with a white ribbon. And finally, Esme added the veil, placing a gentle kiss to my forehead.

"I love you Bella," Esme whispered.

"We all do." Alice added.

The music began to play, provided by Jasper, who wasn't half that bad of a pianist, honestly, although, no one in my eyes was better than Edward. And I felt my stomach drop and erupt in millions of butterflies.

I then walked through the archway and turned to the left, holding my arm out for my father to take, and then I saw it…

The large white pillars they had moved into this section of the house, a ballroom, just for this, a white carpet rolled out all the way to where it teed off, Emmett standing there, holding a bible, and then my eyes fell on Edward; Carlisle standing next to him as his best man.

He was in a purely black tuxedo with a white button up shirt beneath and a black bow-tie. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I felt my knees begin to weaken as I slightly stumbled, my father wrapping his arm a bit more securely around my waist so I wouldn't pitch forward. Who ever had come up with the idea of your father giving you away was a genius. It made everything practically foolproof until I was standing in front of Edward and as he was lifting my veil I realized I hadn't written any vows…

_Oh no_…

Edward must have seen the look on my face as Emmett began to speak, and I blocked him out somehow, staring into Edward's eyes, feeling a faint blush creep onto my cheeks.

"Here," He mouthed, handing me a card.

No one had really seemed to notice the exchange between us as I held them delicately with my bandaged hand.

"You may read your vows," Emmett said with a grin that was far too mischievous for someone who was supposed to be playing the role of the leader of pious matrimony.

"I'll start," Edward said before taking my less injured hand within his and looking deeply within my eyes until it was just us alone in the whole entire universe; no one else existed at all.

"My Bella, for you are the light that illuminates my darkest days, you are everything I have ever dreamed of for eons upon eons of time, twisting in a delicate vice, as pure and as white as the lace that falls from your curls, around my heart.

For my starless nights are bright, for you are the moon in my sky, forever pulling the tides, that monumental gravity, that has held us together, and will forever.

My wife, Isabella Marie Swan-Cullen, I love you, and I will forevermore."

I'm not sure when I noticed the tears streaking down my face.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, holding up my card, blinking away the tears that remained in my eyes. I recognized the words immediately that had been scrawled onto the note card in his brilliant calligraphy. But I didn't want something clichéd, I wanted something from the depths of my own heart that I had written him, so I let the card flutter to the floor.

He eyed me suspiciously, then, that crooked grin playing on his perfectly chiseled lips.

"Edward, until you came into my life, it was devoid of anything it seemed, the same monotonous patterns that I fell into every day, and then… My first day in Forks, I laid eyes on you. You were so beautiful to me, and yet you seemed so far away; untouchable. Once we got to know each other, and even when you were gone…"

I could see pain flit into his eyes momentarily, then. I continued.

"I realized how, no matter what happened, I could never possibly live without you. You're as much my brand of heroin as I am yours."

I could hear a few of the Cullens', including Emmett laugh. My side of the family was a bit lost, but the ceremony continued onward, my tears which had stopped began pouring down my face again when Edward slipped the band on my finger that went with the engagement ring which would probably later be wrought together to signify the bond.

I then slipped his silver band onto his stony cold finger, and before I knew it Edward had his arms wrapped around me and was kissing me with such fervor, he even dipped me down, our families all applauding, our mothers (and the rest of the girls), were crying. I don't think I ever could've imagined being any happier than I was.

Edward was mine forever.

Of course he had been before, but everyone knew it now, and through some insane twist of fate, both of our families supported us. Renée, Charlie, and Phil all ecstatic when I told them that Edward and I were both going to be attending Dartmouth. I swear, everyone in Forks knew; it was a small town after all.

The reception was small, and had been moved outside onto the patio which I was grateful for in quite a few ways, and I was on Edward's feet the whole night dancing, it seemed. (Well at least once we cut the cake, and Alice insisted on the bouquet tossing and garter tradition: Alice having caught the bouquet, and Jasper having caught the garter).

"You were very clever considering you forgot to write your vows, I was touched." He whispered into my ear.

"As was I," I agreed. "What you said was so beautiful."

"Are you still scared?"

I gave Edward a glance, I was slightly bewildered.

"I think I got so caught up in everything, I didn't really have time to be scared." I admitted.

"Good," He said with a smile that reached up to his eyes as he looked into mine. "I love you, Isabella Marie Swan-Cullen." He whispered as we swayed gently to the music.

"I love you too, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen." I replied.

For the night seemed to last forever in his arms until dawn broke over the horizon.


	2. The Promise

**A/N: The title will change after the second round of reviews to **_**Lacrimosa**_**. I'm just letting you guys know so it doesn't catch you off guard. Oh, and thank you for the reviews! They make me a happy writer. –Lady Cajun**

_**2. The Promise**_

Summer seemed to cling to every inch of Forks this year, the rain making the air thicker and almost impossible to breathe; my only reprieve was if I awoke early enough to enjoy the crisp dewy mornings that were one of the more charming attributes of Forks. What was even nicer was that I had company for these rare morning strolls. Edward was by my side always. I don't think I ever realized how genuinely charming Edward could be sometimes, the way he just looked at the world made me rethink things a lot… One thing in particular that seemed to be dancing within our vaporous breaths that morning…

Immortality.

I watched as he eyed the wildlife around us with the curiosity of a child, yet with an intellect that was unsurpassable.

"Edward?" I asked softly, tugging on the ends of my sweater, I seemed more vulnerable to chill these days, especially on mornings like these. He was by my side within the fraction of a second, holding my hand.

"Yes Bella?"

I tried to think of a way to articulate my words so that I wouldn't hurt him accidentally.

"Do you—remember what it was like? You know… Dieing…?"

I could see Edward's mouth begin to harden into a stony line before I'd even finished phrasing my question; it soon softened though, as he began to reply.

"You're still scared." He concluded, slightly avoiding the question.

"No, no! I'm not, honestly I'm just curious." I explained, wanting more than anything to hear his recount of things rather than through someone else. I knew that it was a touchy subject for him but I wanted to listen to his side.

Edward shifted uneasily where he stood unsure where to begin.

"The Pandemic struck Chicago hard; I was only seventeen, my mother having gotten it first… I was desperate to take care of her to make sure she was okay…" He paused a moment and soon picked up again. "Carlisle told me many a time I would get ill, but I was far too stubborn, and it was ultimately my downfall in the end."

"The streets seemed ravaged with the pandemic, as well as the infirmary… I woke up one morning to tend to my mother, and I almost collapsed to the floor, my legs seeming to crumble beneath me…"

I noticed pain enter his eyes now.

"I had failed her, I had promised I would take care of her and I had _failed her_." He paused for a long time then, the tenured silence almost becoming suffocating between us until he spoke again.

"A few of the nurses were convinced I had Typhus, I was in enough pain to have had it, the fever raging within a body that could not handle it. That fire seeming to smolder through out my entire body, wilting my organs to ashes, my skin covered in petechial hemorrhages, my lungs slowly and painfully acquiring edema, slowly suffocating me. I remember just before my mother passed away, her final wishes were to make me one of them…I had no idea what she meant by it, and I faintly remember my ears beginning to bleed."

My hands were covering my mouth at this point, Carlisle had never given such an in depth description of the Influenza, although he could only empathize for having lived though it with Edward I supposed; it was probably what made them so close.

"And then he bit me." Edward said simply. "The burning of the venom was welcome compared to the shutting down of my organs; it was almost a godsend…Almost. I remember how my body expelled the sickness I was coughing up mucous for the first hour or so, writhing in pain before I fell unconscious from the blaze of venom that would soon replace the very blood that flowed through my veins. I don't exactly remember when my heart stopped, but I suppose that was when Carlisle put my time of death on the certificate, my mother having died knowing her son would live forever… I remember when I was first with Carlisle I resented everything that had to do with being immortal. As a matter of fact, I didn't come to accept it for a long time."

I nodded, continuing to listen, my hands having eventually drifted to my sides.

"I don't resent it so much now, now that I have found you, but there are so many things you don't understand, Bella."

I looked at him. I knew exactly where this was going.

"I wish that the Influenza hadn't been around in my lifetime that I could have lived with my mother and not have suffered so much, and the moral imperative would've changed. What I'm trying to say is, Bella, you have what so many of us wish we could have again… And you're willing to just throw it all away for immortality as though you've… We—Rosalie, Alice, and I…We never got to really live full lives, although a full life in the 1900's is nothing compared to now… But do you see what I'm saying, Bella? Not that I really have a say in your choice now, a promise is a promise, but…"

"I would never consider my life to have been fully lived if it was without you." I replied.

And suddenly I felt his lips as they slanted over mine, his fingers twisted within my hair, his cool breath in my mouth, teasing my senses: his venom coated teeth.

And I loved every bit of him for what he was.

Once we broke apart, it suddenly began to get muggy outside as the sun broke hot over the horizon, the light shattering off of his skin in millions of tiny rainbows while we walked hand in hand back home.

It was when we walked through the door I noticed Edward pulling me in the opposite direction of the stairs.

"We're going to be recreational in a safe way for once." Edward said, his lips curling into a smile.

I quirked my brow at this, and then I saw it, the ping-pong table in the center of a very lavish game room.

"I'll serve," Edward having let go of my hand; picking up the paddle and the small white plastic ball, serving it by flicking his wrist, the ball bouncing off the table and gracefully arching over the small net to my side, I hit it back, and so began our game.

"Are you excited about school?" Edward asked, his topaz eyes sparkling as we pinged the ball back and forth to each other; I wasn't half bad.

"I guess so," I began, but suddenly my concentration broke and the ball bounced away onto the floor and I chased after it beginning the game again.

"I'm just nervous you know Dartmouth is so _prestigious_… I honestly don't think I'm really, I mean…"

"Bella, I don't think I will ever truly comprehend your kind of logic. Honestly, you're more afraid of going to college than being turned into a vampire? I know I should get over it by now, but it just _baffles _me."

"Do I baffle you?" I asked a smile on my lips.

Edward caught onto the joke, flashing a dazzling smile at me in return.

"Frequently."

My eyes gave him a once-over, he was in a nicely snug white cashmere shirt; it matched his skin, his hair handsomely untidy, the hems of his slightly baggy jeans catching under the heels of his black shoes, something expensive no doubt.

My wandering eyes were interrupted by Edward's cell phone ringing, and as he picked it up we continued our game, and I had no idea how he could multitask so well… But then again, he didn't have the limitations I had; after all, I was human. I vaguely listened to the conversation until his eyes suddenly became very intent on me, and I almost felt as though I had done something wrong until his gaze softened a little.

"Yes," He said into the phone.

"But you don't think we could wait just…"

He paused a few moments.

"All right then," He agreed rather reluctantly, closing his phone, putting his paddle down onto the table, abruptly stopping our game.

"That was Carlisle," Edward informed me. "Apparently when Jane visited you know, after the battle, she seemed very irate that you were still… Human… and Carlisle said that if we didn't want any trouble it would have to be tonight."

I looked at him wide-eyed, my mouth slightly agape.

"Tonight?" I choked.

"Tonight." He replied.

From the depths of an unknown somewhere tears sprang from behind my eyes. I wasn't sure why, I suppose that one wouldn't respond to such a surprise when it concerned their mortality. I choked the tears back, forcing myself to move, heading instinctually for the door, I was suffocating.

I then found the door to be more of a barrier than a quick escape, for outside would be more apt to be a catalyst of suffocation for me, not my tears.

"Bella," Edward said, taking my hand. "Please, please don't cry…" He cradled my face gently within both of his ivory hands. He wiped my tears away delicately with his thumbs, looking into my eyes.

"I promise you, everything will be okay."

I felt his stony lips gently brush mine, then, they were so cool, and so comforting against my hot crying skin, my breath momentarily leaving my lungs as his breath began to dance along my neck.

"I believe I have a promise to keep," he whispered.


End file.
